No. 12 Duke defeats No. 14 Virginia to extend winning streak

[February 16, 2017]  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Up just four points with less than three minutes to play with the Virginia crowd pleading for a stop, the shot clock was ticking away as Duke guard Jayson Tatum handled the ball at the top of the arc. With no time to spare, the freshman flicked a nearly effortless 20-footer that found nothing but net.

Seconds later, Tatum buried another long distance shot, lifting No. 12 Duke to a 65-55 win over No. 14 Virginia on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

"We won a big-time game tonight," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They're good, we're good, the crowd was great. We played very well in that second half. Our offensive efficiency was outstanding. Jayson had one of those few minutes that separates ordinary players from extraordinary players."

The loss was the second straight for Virginia and the Cavaliers have now lost four of their last six games while the Blue Devils ran their win streak to six games.

Tatum scored a career-high 28 points and knocked down six 3-pointers after having made just 15 for the entire season before Wednesday night.

"You saw a special performance by Jayson Tatum," Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said of Duke's freshman. "That's a talented team and well-coached but very talented."

Virginia (18-7, 8-5), who entered the game leading the ACC in shooting (49 percent), was held to 37 percent shooting and 5-20 from the 3-point line. Guard London Perrantes led the Cavaliers with 14 points on 4-11 shooting.

"That's a credit to Duke, they really guarded us hard," Bennett said. "We had to work to get all of our catches. I thought we had decent shots for the most part and thought we just had trouble finishing when we got to the rim which makes it hard. That was a good defensive Duke team tonight."

Duke (21-5, 9-4) rebounded from a sluggish first half to shoot 45 percent as the Blue Devils made nine 3-pointers and got 16 points from Luke Kennard to complement Tatum's big night.

"The score went from a four-point game to 10 and that was not a 10-point game," Krzyzewski said. "We are proud of our performance and just a really good win for us."

A general view of the game between the Duke Blue Devils and the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. The Blue Devils won 65-55. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Duke knocked down 18 of their 20 free throws which helped to close out the final two minutes of the game. The Blue Devils turned the ball over 11 times, but only three times in the second half, therefor allowing them to outscore Virginia by 14 in the final 20 minutes.

Freshman guard Ty Jerome scored 13 points off of the bench to give a Virginia team who was held to their lowest shooting percentage of the season, and their lowest at home in two years a spark.

Virginia jumped out to an early 9-2 lead before Duke used a 10-0 run to take its first lead at 10-9 with 11:53 to play.

Both teams were cold from the field during the first 20 minutes, which included a seven-minute stretch where neither team connected on a field goal.

The Cavaliers scored the half's final six points and took a 25-21 lead into the locker room. Virginia shot 32 percent and got seven points from Perrantes.

Duke shot just 33 percent and turned the ball over eight times, leading to nine Virginia points. Tatum led the way with seven points.

NOTES: Jayson Tatum's six made 3-pointers tied him with eight other Duke freshmen for a Blue Devils record. ... Duke has won three straight games against the Cavaliers. Virginia is now 3-4 against ranked teams this season. ... Duke has now won three road games in a row. ... Virginia travels to play at North Carolina on Saturday night while Duke will host Wake Forest, also on Saturday.

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